Jeanette Frey
MY RESEARCH
I began working in the Carmichael lab as a Master's student in the fall of 2002. My thesis project was part of a three-year study that took place in the St. Johns River Water Management District, Florida. The water district was trying to determine the feasibility of using surface water to meet future drinking water needs. However, the water in the area is prone to blooms of toxic cyanobacteria. I was interested in three toxins produced by these cyanobacteria: anatoxin-a, an acetylcholine agonist that can lead to death via suffocation; cylindrospermopsin, a potent hepatotoxin known to inhibit protein synthesis; and microcystins, potent protein phosphatase inhibitors. A variety of species are known to produce these toxins. However, their numbers in the surface water could not account for the total amounts of cyanotoxins detected. In order to identify new toxin producers, I isolated cyanobacteria from water samples from Lake Dora, Lake Harris, Lake George and the St. Johns River. I used two isolation methods in order to establish clonal, unialgal cultures: streak plating and a washing method. I determined anatoxin-a and cylindrospermopsin content of each new strain by Liquid Chromatography/Mass Spectrometry (LC/MS). I determined microcystin content using direct competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and confirmed results using LC/MS. Individual strains of toxin-producing cyanobacteria were identified based on morphological characteristics.
MY WORK
I now work as a research associate and focus on the application of analytical methods for analyses of cyanotoxins in a variety of matrices. I use ELISA to test water samples, freeze-dried algal samples, tissue samples, and health food samples for microcystin content. I use LC/ESIMS to test for anatoxin-a, cylindrospermopsin, microcystin and b-methylamino-L-alanine (BMAA) content. I am also involved in developing a quality control protocol for the determination of anatoxin-a and microcystins in drinking water for an American Water Works Association Research Foundation funded project.
PRESENTATIONS
Poster: Culture, Isolation and Analysis of Anatoxin-a, Cylindrospermopsin and Microcystin Producing Cyanobacteria in the St. Johns River Water Management District, Florida. 6th International Conference on Toxic Cyanobacteria, Bergen, Norway. June, 2004.
Poster: Culture, Isolation and Analysis of Anatoxin-a, Cylindrospermopsin and Microcystin Producing Cyanobacteria in the St. Johns River Water Management District, Florida. Annual Meeting of the Ohio Lake Management Society, Mt. Sterling, OH. March, 2004.
HONORS
Best Student Presentation. Annual Meeting of the Ohio Lake Management Society, Mt. Sterling, OH. March, 2004.
Education:
B.A., Biology, minor Chemistry, University of Colorado, Colorado Springs, 2000.
First year of graduate studies at Duke University, Durham, NC,
in the Integrated Toxicology Ph.D. program, 2001-2002.
M.S., Biology, Wright State University, 2004.
Contact Information:
Phone: (937) 775-3610
Fax: (937) 775-3320
email: jeanette.frey@wright.edu
Go
back to Wayne Carmichael's lab homepage
Go
Back to Wayne Carmichael's Lab Personnel
This page was updated on June 12, 2006.
Please send your suggestions and comments to: wayne.carmichael@wright.edu.